Colliers International Swoops on Australia's Talent Pool

Sydney, Australia, May 14, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Colliers International is celebrating the success of its 2009 strategic recruitment plan following several key highlights.

Over the past four months, Colliers International has achieved its 70th hire as the rising unemployment rate of 5.7 percent has created a growing talent pool of skilled professionals to choose from.

John Kenny, Chief Executive Officer – Australia, at Colliers International, said its longstanding policies have built resilience within the company, arming it with the tools to fight the economic challenges and remain competitive in a downturn market.

“Our business plan has always been about investing in the future of our people and the company. As we continue to expand our services to our clients and our geographic reach, we match our success with the growth and development of our people.”

Mr Kenny said the company made a strategic decision for 2009 to grow the senior leadership base.

“We understand the current and foreseeable market conditions, and now more than ever our clients rely on us to share our knowledge.

“We have adapted our business strategy by expanding our reach and widening our pool of talent to help share our knowledge with our clients and the industry,” said Mr Kenny.

Colliers International’s key appointments for the year to date include:
· Stephen Cox – National Director of Occupier Services, Sydney CBD, formerly Head of Property at Westpac
· Stewart Gilchrist – Director of Retail Shopping Centre Sales and Gold Coast Office Director, previously at CBRE
· Mark McCann – Director of Office Leasing, Brisbane, formerly at Knight Frank
· Jim Midgley – National Director, National Franchise Services for Colliers International’s wholly owned subsidiary, PRDnationwide, Brisbane
· Dan Cuda – State Director, Retail, Brisbane, previously at Knight Frank
· Ian Carrigan – State Director, Retail, Gold Coast, also formerly at Knight Frank
· David Finnimore – Online Marketing Manager, Sydney CBD, previously at Jones Lang LaSalle

“These key appointments represent a commitment to the growth and stability of not only Colliers International, but also Australia’s property market,” said Mr Kenny.

“We know that there are great opportunities out there and these will increase as the market recovers, which is why we are prepared to meet all the needs of our clients.”

Out of the 32 new positions created this year, more than half of which were for Colliers International’s Real Estate Management business, following several major management contracts.

One of these contracts was the management renewal of Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s circa 3000 sites across the country for another three years after successfully servicing the company for the past 10 years. A new contract to manage the real estate services for Australia Post was also achieved this year.

“The success of our Real Estate Management business has resulted from a strategic approach to delivering a personalised service. This is coupled with access to our experts in all of our sectors from valuations, research, sales, leasing, facilities management to workplace solutions, as well as our global network of 12,700 people in 61 countries,” said Mr Kenny.

Colliers International’s professional development strategy is a primary reason the company has remained relatively immune to the nation’s plummeting growth trends, according to Mr Kenny.

Most often during a downturn, external consultants and advisers are the first to be culled. But because of the level of commitment to training and professional development within Colliers International, the company has continued to double its investment year-on-year for the past three years.

This year, an international real estate services leader, Gerald Clerx, was sponsored to work with the company’s teams across Australia. The highly regarded expert has developed a specialised set of courses for Colliers International, to be delivered via face-to-face training as well as via Webinars, utilising the company’s unique learning and development technology platform.

Thus far, 500 employees nationally have received face-to-face training with another 150 employees to attend training with Mr Clerx in early May.

“Our people are the bones of our business; the quality of our people is critical to our success, which is why we have continued to invest so heavily in their growth and development,” he said.

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